VGA Cooler for the 3870X2?

boe · Post by **boe** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:55 am

Anyone else thinking about getting a 3870X2 - I'm considering it but only if I can get a quite VGA cooler for it. I prefer to stick with simple fan coolers - I'm not ready to go liquid.

Thanks.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:57 pm

x2 seems to be disapointing with nVidia's similar in previews. Let's wait official tests to see if its worth getting. Cooling that beasts will be a hard. I doubt there will be much campatible coolers for it or nvidia's counter part.

boe · Post by **boe** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:20 pm

The X2 looks like pretty dang good bang for the buck from what I've seen in benchmarks. I'm not saying there won't be a better card on the market but it looks like it is hitting a sweet spot in the market. I have no idea when nVidia will be releasing their new flagship GPU but there 2 core GPU unit doesn't really interest me. If they make something that really kicks the x2's for a small amount more I'm happy to go nVidia.

Weren't they suppose to release their new GPU by now?

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:24 am

nVIDIA will release 9800 GX2 in Mid-February, it would substitute for 8800 Ultra, so don't expect it to be priced reasonably. Rumor has it that nVIDIA will price them at insanely high price, but no definite proof to back right now.

nutball · Post by **nutball** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:42 am

loimlo wrote:nVIDIA will release 9800 GX2 in Mid-February, it would substitute for 8800 Ultra, so don't expect it to be priced reasonably. Rumor has it that nVIDIA will price them at insanely high price, but no definite proof to back right now.

Rumour would have that, because that's the sort of thing that rumours tend to have. Honestly some people should at least shift their brains from neutral to first gear before inventing such rumours.

Maybe just maybe the price of 9800GX2 will depend on its performance relative to the competition?

boe · Post by **boe** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:30 pm

loimlo wrote:nVIDIA will release 9800 GX2 in Mid-February, it would substitute for 8800 Ultra, so don't expect it to be priced reasonably. Rumor has it that nVIDIA will price them at insanely high price, but no definite proof to back right now.

If I recall that is their 2 GPU unit based on the current GPU chipset. I thought they had a new GPU chip coming out soon.

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:38 pm

VGA Cooler for the 3870X2?

u need 2 coolers, zalman VF900 should be a good option without having to mod.

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:20 am

9800GX2 will certainly be the fastest card in the market, so I think they would come up with ridiculously high price is a reasonable estimate.

It is said that nVIDIA will release a totally new chip in the second half of this year, as usual, no proof to back up now.

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:35 am

9800GX2 will certainly be the fastest card in the market

how do u know this? it cant be anny more than 2 GT cores, since their using 2 pcbs the cores cant have a higher tdp than 100W

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:29 pm

leifeinar wrote:
9800GX2 will certainly be the fastest card in the market
how do u know this? it cant be anny more than 2 GT cores, since their using 2 pcbs the cores cant have a higher tdp than 100W

Sorry, I don't get your point. 2 cores & pcbs on one PCIE 16X bandwidth is one card, not two cards.

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 8:44 pm

well, if the card has 2 pcbs. and there is just over 1 cm of space between them there is a limit of how hot the core inbetween the two pcbs can be. and this itself is limiting how fast the card can be. since TDP and the power of it is connected.

so my guess is that u really cant cool more than 100W at such a cramped place the we would end up with 2 gt cores. and gt in sli is more or less equal with hd3870 cf thus the X2 and the new nvidia cards would be quite head to head

loimlo · Post by **loimlo** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:46 am

Well, 8800GT is faster than 3870 from sole one card to dual SLI, Crossfire cards, you could google it on the net for further information. 3870 dominates in better & quieter stock cooler, less power draw, and superior BD/HD DVD off-loading.

As for 9800GX2, it'll be a really huge card, and that's what I can say right now. Plus, you didn't take Quad SLI, Quad Crossfire into consideration.

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:16 am

There are 3870X2s with a different stock cooler, check this one:
http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/GECUBE_ ... /5538.html
The cooling should be similar to two Zalman VF900s, and no need to void the warranty.
But the power draw of this card (at load) is huge, it would ramp up your PSU's fan a lot.

boe · Post by **boe** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:51 am

Thanks!

That is one heck of an interesting looking video card

I still have one month before I start buying parts as I'm waiting for the CPUs and chipsets released in February. Hopefully we'll see some more 3870x2 reviews and comparisons by then.

If I were to buy just a standard 3870 - not a dual GPU model - any recommendation on GPU coolers - I'm concerned the zalman on my current video card x1950 isn't keeping it cool enough. (my guess is because it doesn't vent out like the stock fan and because the cooler faces down - not sure why they aren't put on the top of the card (so to speak when inserted in a slot).

boe · Post by **boe** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:29 am

It is a shame there probably won't be any custom cooling solutions available for this card - these results aren't very good.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1281/16

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:34 pm

boe wrote:If I recall that is their 2 GPU unit based on the current GPU chipset. I thought they had a new GPU chip coming out soon.

Soon is not that soon, probably May or later on even. For now it looks that the whole 9x00 series of Nvidia will just be dieshrinks. 9800X2 will be the new flagship, so expect prices of 500+ euro's

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:08 am

seraphyn wrote:
boe wrote:If I recall that is their 2 GPU unit based on the current GPU chipset. I thought they had a new GPU chip coming out soon.
Soon is not that soon, probably May or later on even. For now it looks that the whole 9x00 series of Nvidia will just be dieshrinks. 9800X2 will be the new flagship, so expect prices of 500+ euro's

HD 3870x2's prices are 417 to 440 â‚¬'s in Finland in pre-order. I doubt nVidia can beat it. Ati cards are cheaper to make. So I also expect 500+ â‚¬'s. So Ati seems to be better value in price. We need to see how the two compeares in games etc.

If 9800x2's are much more faster, then peoples would probably pay 500+ â‚¬'s.

TooNice · Post by **TooNice** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 5:03 am

I don't think it is unlikely that the 9800 will be faster. If the reported specifications are correct (256 Stream Processors), then the 9800 will be 2xGTS(G92) rather than two GTs. I can also see it being more expensive given that it's more costly to manufacture (stucking two cards together - two cards which are more expensive than the 3870).

From a bang for buck perspective, I'd find it fairly surprising if the X2 would not be better than the 9800. That said, from a bang for buck perspective, the a single GTS (G92) is better and the performance gap on average is not all that great. In fact, if it weren't for the need for a SLI ready motherboard, two GT could be quite competitive with the X2 in terms of bang for buck and even absolute costs (the GT is marked-up in most places, but every now and then you do find some bargains which brings it to half the price of an X2 - and from a performance perspective, 2xGT tend to do better than the X2).

Ygglur · Post by **Ygglur** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:30 am

Isnt kinda strange that theres alot of talk about nvidia cards in a thread about cooler for the new 3870x2. I dont give a f.... about what nvidia going to release. I want to know about aftermarket coolers for 3870x2,

Pls... Get back on topic. If you want to talk about nvidia. Keep it in pm or start another thread.

boe · Post by **boe** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:28 pm

This looks promising -

http://www.pinoypc.net/index.php?option ... 7&Itemid=2

Hopefully they'll consider making an X2 version - even if it had a quiet fan for the x2 version I think it might be exactly what I'm looking for.

Ygglur · Post by **Ygglur** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:53 am

That sure looks interesting.

boe · Post by **boe** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:22 pm

Ygglur wrote:That sure looks interesting.

I sent them an e-mail asking about something like it for the x2 but haven't heard back. I could see something nearly identical in overall design made for a dual GPU unit but with a quite 120mm or 80mm fan attached for nearly silent video. Ideally they'd make it a standard 120mm atachment so that you could pick your own 120 or 80mm.

boe · Post by **boe** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:11 pm

Kinda dissappointed they didn't bother to reply even with a no or we can't comment on future products or anything - just no reply at all.

shikimaru · Post by **shikimaru** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:47 pm

Do you think it would work to use two thermalright HR-03 gt, one looping over the card and one hanging in front of it?

I think the card would be long enough that you would be able to do it without them clashing.

and that by far would be one of the best solutions

Ygglur · Post by **Ygglur** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:33 pm

Yea. but the mounting bracket for the HR-03GT doesnt line up on the 3870x2.

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:38 pm

i did put 2 vf900 on my x2 card. it was a thight fit. and had to remove a part on the back cooler because it was blocking the 6pin.

cooling is just awsome, im runing it wit a 3 pin y-adapter and the noctua u.l.n.a (ultra low noice adapter) giving the fans just enough volt to start. at 25 celcius ambient it loads at 66 and idles at 42. this at lowest posible voltage

i would say u need some medium modding skills to do this

Ygglur · Post by **Ygglur** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:31 pm

Great to hear that they fit. Would be cool if you could post pictures of it.

Nice temps.

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:45 pm

im on holliday back in ten days or so. ill post some pics then

Ygglur · Post by **Ygglur** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:52 pm

Leifeinar.

Hope you had a nice holiday. Any news on the pics.

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:08 pm

tnx, just came back, drowe 800km in the worst weather ever...

my card needs some modifications, theres som WRM temps that peaks at 125 celsius. whwn i was home i found some realy nice pentium 2 heatsinks. from them i made 60 memory, chipset mosfet coolers. ill put them on sometimes this week.

theres a pic here

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... ?p=2763848 mine looks just the same for now. [/img]

VGA Cooler for the 3870X2?

VGA Cooler for the 3870X2?

THanks

Too bad

Off topic

This might be my next card

Never heard back from them